Exporters urged to turn crisis into opportunity

At the same time, he urged Thai exporters to remain positive and try to turn this crisis into an opportunity.

Speaking last month at Ambiente 2009, the world's biggest trade fair for consumer goods, held in Frankfurt, Germany, Jirabool said the government has focused on encouraging newly established exporters to participate in trade fairs, while veteran exporters have been left to fend for themselves.

The Department of Export Promotion buys space at selected fairs each year, and invites qualified new exporters to present their products. Usually, companies are only invited to join the Thailand booth during their first three years of operation.

That strategy is legitimate in normal times, he said, but in this time of crisis, it must be changed.

"In such an economic crisis, where everyone must cut costs, it is too expensive for small companies to come, no matter how much support they receive from the government. Most medium-sized exporters are hibernating. They stop going to trade fairs and do not spend on developing their products. They just hope they can get through the year."

On the other hand, big exporters with loyal customers continue to participate in the fairs, without the help of government support, he said. "But how long can they continue? One day they'll give up."

Jirabool argued the government must focus more on established exporters by helping them with participation fees, on the condition that they present items in line with the fair's designated theme.

"This way, the government will be using the same budget, but will be able to project a much stronger and more vital image of Thailand."

Kattiya Rojanatrekoon, president of Silver Rain Group, a leading exporter of Christmas decorations, agreed. "Customers will definitely come and visit these booths. The spill-over effect will also benefit the smaller Thai producers that are part of the Thailand booth."

Jirabool urged the government to continue to support infrastructures that stimulate creative thinking, such as the Thailand Creative and Design Centre.

The number of Thai exhibitors at Ambiente 2009 was 144, down from 177 the previous year, with many staying away for fear that slower traffic and reduced purchasing power due to the global financial crisis might not make the six- to seven-digit expense of participating in the five-day event worthwhile. But Jirabool had a different perspective on the fairs.

"There are less people attending fairs during the crisis means that those who attend are the real buyers. They might be fewer in number, but they will still place orders. It is their job to find items for their customers and fill their empty shelves."

He added that while price plays a crucial role in trading nowadays, there is also greater potential for quality Thai products.

"Several buyers [told me they] had bad experiences with the quality and standard of Chinese products. They now think twice about such goods and prefer to go for something a bit more expensive, but which comes with better service and commitment. This is an opportunity to win back customers.

The Thai gifts, home-textile, decorative-items, toy and lifestyle-products sector - excluding furniture - had an export value of Bt62 billion last year, according to Jirabool. The main export destinations were the US, which accounted for 32 per cent; followed by Japan, the UK and Switzerland.

Jirabool said that because the US market has collapsed, Thai exporters should turn to other emerging markets that have potential such as China, India, the Middle East and Africa.

"For example, China is not even among the top 20 of our exporting destinations [in terms of gifts and lifestyle products], but has very strong potential because of its emerging middle class."

Most important of all, he said, Thai exporters must remain positive and turn the crisis into an opportunity.

"In terms of marketing, we must compete when our competitors are weak. When they are strong, everyone is willing to spend on marketing, and it is very difficult and costly to compete," he said.

"In my opinion, this is the hour for us to concentrate on marketing. While everyone cuts costs and stops visiting their customers, we should do be doing roadshows, visiting customers, letting them know that we are still in business and willing to work with them and go through the difficult times together.

 "My motto for this recession is: Let's be the first place buyers think of when they are ready to make a purchase."

Government should support the established Thai exporters, instead of new comers, during this economic crisis, argued Jirabool Vittayasing, president of Thai Gifts Premiums & Decorative Association. Meanwhile, Thai exporters must remain positive and turn crisis into opportunities, he said.

Speaking at Ambiente 2009, the world's biggest trade fair for consumer goods, Jirabool said that Government has been focusing their supports to the newly established exporters to come to trade fairs while letting the veteran exporters being on their own.

The department of export promotion bought spaces at the selected fairs each year, and invited qualified new exporters to join and present their products. Usually, companies were only allowed to join the Thailand booth during their first three years at the fair.

He said the strategy is legitimate but at the time of crisis, it must be changed.

"In such an economic crisis, where everyone must cut cost, it is too expensive for small companies to come no matter how much support they have from government. Most of the medium-size exporters are also hibernating. They stop going to trade fairs and do not spend on developing their products. They just hope they can pass this year."

On the other hand, the big exporters with loyal customers still come to the fair although they do not have supports from government, he said. "But how long can they continue as such? They will also be worn out one day."

Jirabool argued that the government must now focus more on the established exporters by grouping them together and financially supporting the booth fees on the condition that they must present items along with the designated theme. "This way, the government will be using the same budget, but has a much stronger and extravagant image of Thailand."

Kattiya Rojanatrekoon, president of Silver Rain Group, leading exporters of Christmas decorative items, also agreed with the opinion. "Customers will definitely come and visit these booths. The spillover effect will also benefit the smaller Thai producers that are also the part of Thailand booth."

Jirabool added that the government must also continue to support infrastructures that stimulate creative thinkings such as the TCDC (Thailand Creative & Design Center).

The number of Thai exhibitors at Ambiente 2009 reduced to 144 from 177 on the previous year, many feared that the slow traffic and buyers' pause of spending from worldwide financial crisis might not make the 6-7 digit budget for the five-day event worth it. But Jirabool has a different perspective.

"That there are less people attending the fair during the crisis means that these people are the real buyers. They might decrease volume, but they will still place orders. It is their jobs to find items for their customers or fill their empty shelves."

He added that despite price plays a crucial role in trading nowadays, there is also greater potential for Thai quality products. "Several buyers had bad experiences from Chinese products' quality and standard. They now think twice and prefer to go for something a bit more expensive, but come with better services and commitment. This is the opportunity to win back customers."

The gift, home textile, decorative items, toys and lifestyle products sector excluding furniture has the export value of Baht 62 billion last year, according to Jirabool. The main export destinations are the US, which amounts to 32%; No. 2 is Japan, followed by the UK and Switzerland.

Because the American market has collapsed, Jirabool said that Thai exporters should turn to some other emerging markets that is full of potentials such as China, India, Middle East and Africa. "For example, China is not even in top 20 of our exporting destination (in terms of gifts and lifestyle products) whereas it has a very strong potential because of their emerging middle class."

Most important of all, Thai exporters must remain positive and turned the crisis into opportunities.

"In terms of marketing, we must compete when the competitors are weak. When they are strong, everyone is willing to spend for marketing, it is very difficult and costly to contest," he said.

"In my opinion, this is the best hour for us to do marketing. While everyone cut costs, stop visiting the customers, we should do the road shows, visiting customers, letting them know that we are still in business and willing to work with them to go through the difficult times together."

 "My motto for this recession is to be the first that buyers would think of when they are ready to make a purchase."